Fitchburg places teacher's aide on leave after nude photos surface

Wednesday

Jan 22, 2014 at 3:42 PMJan 22, 2014 at 9:37 PM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

FITCHBURG — Racy modeling photos of a 23-year-old teacher's aide who worked in the special education department at South Street Elementary School have prompted administrative action against her while an investigation is conducted.

Some of the photos of Kaitlin "Kaity" Pearson that appear on her Facebook page and in modeling publications, including ModelsMania Magazine — which named her its model of the year — are "elegant implied nudes" with only her hands covering her nipples and her legs strategically placed to cover other sensitive areas. She is also seen posing with other nude women.

Those photos made their way to the desk of Fitchburg School Superintendent Andre R. Ravenelle Friday when an anonymous package was delivered to his office.

"On Friday, January 17, 2014, the Fitchburg Public Schools received an anonymous envelope," Mr. Ravenelle said in a statement he released Wednesday morning after the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper — which received the same anonymous packet Monday — ran a story about Ms. Pearson.

"It contained modeling screenshots of an individual who is employed as a paraprofessional at South Street Elementary School, and it also contained comments about that individual's employment here. This prompted the opening of an investigation by management, and as is not uncommon at the onset of personnel investigations, the paraprofessional was immediately placed on a paid leave of absence to assure student safety during the investigation and to mitigate potential disruption."

Paid administrative leave status, he said, does not constitute a finding of any wrongdoing.

The school only checks prospective employees' criminal histories, Mr. Ravenelle explained, and Ms. Pearson's modeling shots are not criminal in nature.

"The school department's hiring procedure solely requires CORI checks on the background of potential employees," he said. "CORI checks only screen for criminal activity. The information provided to the school department and Sentinel is not of a criminal nature. This situation poses no threat to the student body and is at this time solely a personnel issue.

"Since the School Department is obligated to protect the safety of students as well as the rights of its employees, there will be no further comment on this issue."

On her Facebook page, Ms. Pearson said she is a resident of Worcester, a Fitchburg High School graduate and that she studied at Becker College in Worcester. She also lists herself as a "studio girl" at Light Works Studio in Worcester.

Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG

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